Original
Motion Picture Score Composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard

Christian
Bale ... Bruce Wayne/Batman

Heath
Ledger ... The Joker

Aaron
Eckhart ... Harvey Dent/Two-Face

Michael
Caine ... Alfred Pennyworth

Maggie
Gyllenhaal ... Rachel Dawes

Gary
Oldman ... James Gordon

Morgan
Freeman ... Lucius Fox

Monique
Gabriela Curnen ... Detective Anna Ramirez

Ron
Dean ... Detective Wuertz

Cillian
Murphy ... Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow

Chin
Han ... Lau

Nestor
Carbonell ... Mayor Anthony Garcia

Eric
Roberts ... Salvatore Maroni

Ritchie
Coster ... The Chechen

Anthony
Michael Hall ... Mike Engel

Keith
Szarabajka ... Detective Stephens

Colin
McFarlane ... Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb

Joshua
Harto ... Coleman Reese

Michael
Jai White ... Gambol

Melinda
McGraw ... Barbara Gordon

Nathan
Gamble ... James Gordon Jr.

Michael
Vieau ... Al Rossi

Michael
Stoyanov ... Dopey

William
Smillie ... Happy

Danny
Goldring ... Grumpy

Matthew
O'Neill ... Chuckles

William
Fichtner ... Bank Manager

David
Dastmalchian ... Schiff Thomas

Beatrice
Rosen ... Natascha

Nydia
Rodriguez Terracina ... Judge Surrillo

Patrick
Clear ... Judge Freel

Sarah
Jayne Dunn ... Maroni's Mistress

Batman,
Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an
anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to
their limits.

----------------------------------------------

In
a word?

EPIC.

What
could I possibly say about 2008’s “The Dark Knight” that hasn’t been said
already?

The
truth is nothing, so I’ll have to settle for saying it my way.

Christopher
Nolan has a clear vision; a vision of an ever evolving saga that seeks and yearns to
be founded on logical characterization, compelling drama, plausible action and
intelligent reverence.

And
whether you agree or not, Nolan undeniably refines that vision in "The
Dark Knight;" a vicious, engrossing, overwhelming event of a film that in
contemporary terms has completely redefined what one as a viewer can expect
from a film that is adapted from a 'comic book.'

Now I don't say that as a means of stating that every film adaptation of a comic should be made with the agenda of becoming "The Dark Knight;" other heroes have other tones and stylings and filmmakers would do best to remember that by honoring their roots rather than try to rip off a successful film like this.

What I mean is just that; filmmakers should approach their own repsective material with as much passion and interpretive vision as Nolan and company.

The days of treating this material without proper respect should be long over thanks to "Knight."

In
Nolan's grim, dark depiction of Gotham City, the director strives to give everything a world-trodden and tangible
weight (something he began in the well received "Batman Begins"). He
makes Batman’s war on crime plausible, possible. And yet there's more to it:
just as "Begins" was a dissection of the myth, the nature of symbols and
heroes, "Knight" is the escalation of that notion. It's a biblical
confrontation of 'good-and-evil', yet as 'good-and-evil' really exists: a
conflict of ideals, something that can't be purely-defined but that is relative
to a viewpoint. In Nolan's world, the line of villainy and heroism isn't
crossed. It's non-existent. The bad guys don't see themselves as bad guys, and
as such something so unnerving comes across it might fly past some people's
minds (no insult to anybody, it's just common that people don't look deep into
'popcorn flicks'): the battle is a complete ambiguity.

The
film runs at a hearty and appreciated 153 minutes, yet it never ceases to lose
interest or momentum. Not once. It doesn't waste a scene or a moment; there’s
no extraneous shoe leather and if you watch the film when TNT broadcasts it,
you’ll notice that not one single scene is edited out for the sake of time. Every
action, every set piece and every ounce of dialog and characterization is
utilized and necessary.

“The
Dark Knight” tells a story worth telling and it takes the proper amount of time
to tell it. Action-sequences are frantic, old school, eye popping stunts
(vastly superior to "Begins" on terms of pacing, editing and composition) and
in their chaotic intensity we see that they serve purpose to the story, yet
more interesting are not played for pure entertainment value: we are meant to
watch, petrified, simply hoping that the outcome will go the hero's way.
Attention is never lost because we are immersed in a breathtaking, almost
completely-unpredictable story (it packs many a shock), that makes us think and
more importantly gains our emotional-investment.

We come to care for the
characters, because they are believable, developed, and personified fully.

The
cast is pure A-grade. With both the absence of Katie Holmes
and the injection of new cast, every player in “The Dark Knight” brings their
skill to the table, an act that the character of Batman should always demand
from involved and skilled casts.

Now
some people cite that “Knight” has a potential fatal flaw in the supposedly
wooden acting of Christian Bale. Admittedly, his development is not as grand as
in "Begins" (yet that film DID give us such a good psychoanalysis of Wayne, we
hardly need more. By this point, the persona’s established. It was time for the
Bat to leave the roost and see if he’d fall or fly), yet what Bale pulls off is
admirable.

Wayne is not an eccentric personality. He is a disillusioned man who
can hardly find any joy in having no family, giving up his love interest and
spending his life fighting a battle that may never end. This is a younger Batman;
one that is trying to come to terms with the terms he’s defined and it’s
fascinating to watch him wrestle between what he wants, what he needs and what
he has to sacrifice regardless.

He's dark and conflicted, and Bale plays up on
that brooding-mood by making Wayne look as though a thousand dark things were
on his mind. He's not wooden. He's a humorless, quiet individual, just as a
burgeoning dark knight would be.

Even
when Wayne is acting as a frivolous playboy for the public, every now and then
Bale offers us a powerful glance that reminds us it’s all a façade; that deep
down, something more disturbed irks him. Occasionally he offers a broken-smile
when exchanging banter with Alfred, letting us know that beyond the dour
depression of the Caped Crusader lays a heavily fractured human being. It is
only in the guise of a growling masked vigilante that he can unleash his true,
ferocious personality.

In many ways, fans have shown concern that the character
is lost amongst the scope of the picture but looking at the eventual outcome of
the film’s ending and Batman’s ultimate sacrifice, I disagree. This film might
not be as directly about Batman as “Batman Begins” was, but it’s focus on
Batman is intact, broadening itself to detail the consequences of Wayne’s actions both
prior to and within the context of the film.

Everyone
has great-chemistry together on screen. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a more mature Rachel Dawes
than Katie Holmes. Morgan Freeman provides his authoritative presence to the
role of gadget-inventor/Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox, and under anyone
else's portrayal, the part would be less memorable. Gary Oldman underplays his
world-wearied lawman with such honest nobility; you never feel for a second any
of its forced acting. His ascension to Police Commissioner is well deserved and
congratulated.

The irreplaceable Michael Caine makes a gentle, reassuring
father like presence as Alfred, and the movie would surely fail without his
strong-resolve and interjected moments of light humor. And even bit actors like
Eric Roberts, Anthony Michael Hall and Keith Szarabajka populate the film with
such charisma and character; it’s truly something when your ENTIRE cast is of
this quality.

While
everyone (rightfully) pours the praise unto Bale and Ledger being the standouts, I think most
initially glanced over "Knight"s breakout performance. As Harvey Dent, Aaron
Eckhart does more than hold himself in the company of such a renowned cast. He
makes his presence known, whether he's playing on the easy going charisma of
being Gotham's 'White-Knight' or the broken, damaged and twisted soul of
Two-Face. He achieves a full-impact with the tragedy that comes unto his
character, and so closely connects with Dent, that he makes his pain tangible
for us: we sympathize even as we become terrified. He captures both facets of
each personality flawlessly and his fall from grace is truly the backbone of
the entire film, as Nolan has stated on numerous occasions.

"You thought we could be decent men, in an indecent time. But you were wrong."

"Why So Serious?"

It goes without saying that the most talked about cast member and performance
of the film is the Joker, as performed by the late Heath Ledger. Now, when he
was first announced for the part, I (along with many other people) was asking
myself: "Why?"

Yes,
Mr. Ledger had proved with "Brokeback Mountain" he could deliver a potent
performance. But as a Batman fan, I knew the Joker was a different story than a
cowboy with homosexual longings. But the response was bubbling beneath the surface.
The industry was abuzz. There were rumors, strong ones, concerning the
brilliance of the performance; even words like ‘Oscar’ and ‘Academy Award’ were
being thrown around.

At
first I didn’t want to believe it, as great as it sounded. Why get your hopes
up concerning an award no other Comic Book adaptation had ever hoped to reach
before? Not that the verdict of the MPAA dictates what I can or cannot consider
a masterful performance but it’s truly a mark of genius that in this regard, we
were in perfect and harmonious agreement.

Tragically
the news of Ledger’s shocking accidental death in January of 2008 began pouring
in, and that was the first time I started to buy into how tremendous this
performance would be, albeit under tremendously bitter circumstances.

Needless
to say, all of that anticipation paid off in spades, and Heath left behind not
only the most memorable performance of his too-short career but perhaps the
most memorable performance of the decade.

When
Heath first appears in the movie, he is completely unrecognizable. His voice is
distinctly altered; a near whiny, pedophile-like tone that sends shivers down the
spine. His face is completely splattered with makeup that renders him both
freakishly nightmarish and strangely funny. And when you see him, you don't
think it's him. In this, his final performance, Ledger proved he was a
chameleon. His two iconic performances in this and "Brokeback" couldn't be
more different. I am convinced he could have been anything in his career. He
commits so intensely to character that the line of actor/portrayal isn’t just
blurred, it’s erased. His every tick and gesture only further enhances his
Joker into a truly sinister and evil creature of a man.

Heath never hams the
role up or goes for something cheap: he delivers a fully immersed display of
psychotic madness. Or do we just label him that to feel safer? The movie writes
the character brilliantly, blending terrifying truth into his every social
accusation, and making us question why we laugh at his sick jokes knowing in
the back of our minds that there’s a definite grain of truth in what he
believes.

The resulting philosophical conflict between Joker and Batman is as fascinating here as its ever been in the comics.

The Joker is a chaotic manifestation of all the horrible conotations that people perceive of Batman, and Batman is struggling to hold onto the hope that he's not as similar to the Joker as he might have to admit.

The
technical advances made in the film are astounding, providing a very rich
experience. Cinematographer Wally Pfister should be commendednot just for the
lighting of the film, which combines ‘glossy and lavish’ with ‘urban grit and
decay,’ but for the utilization of IMAX camera technology for a handful of the
opening exterior shots of both Gotham City and Hong Kong as well as several
full-blown sequences.

Seeing the film in IMAX wasn’t a necessity as far as enjoying
and following the film but I did jump at the opportunity when the film was
re-released for a short period. And let me tell you; the images of Batman
gliding across Hong Kong and the Joker with guns blazing on the IMAX screen
will stay with me forever.

Rightfully, Pfister would go on to win the Academy Award for cinematography for Christopher Nolan's science fiction epic "Inception."

Pushing
it one step further, there are a handful of single shots in the film that are
composed in such a large, iconic fashion that I would very easily consider them
works of art.

Batman
gliding over the Hong Kong skyline.

The
Joker hanging out the side of a GPD Squad Car as he makes his escape from the
MCU.

A
scarred and bandaged Dent screaming at the realization that Rachel is dead.

Batman
kneeling in sorrow as Barbara Gordon curses him.

The
Joker walking away as Gotham General Hospital is engulfed in an inferno.

Batman
standing within the rubble of 250 52nd street.

All
parts of a lush, visual mosaic.

The
production design isn’t as groundbreaking (for me) as Burton’s original film.
While the sets of “The Dark Knight” are still made with such passion and
quality, the production design in “Batman” has more character to it, I feel.

But again “Knight” is still amazing in this regard.

Wayne’s Penthouse is a
gorgeous display of modernism with marble floors, glass and chrome (this, more
than any other comic book pad – aside from Wayne Manor and Tony Stark’s Malibu
Manson – is the place I’d want to live).

I also love the utilitarian approach
to the holding cells and interrogation rooms that reside in the MCU.

And of
course there’s Batman’s new base of operations which looks magnificent, like a
giant and perfectly structured concrete stronghold box. Here I thought I was
going to miss the Batcave, but the underground garage fits well (both because story-wise it was
necessary following the destruction of Wayne Manor in “Batman Begins,” but it
also works from a design perspective given Batman’s almost militaristic
approach to crime fighting in this day and age.)

I
was a bit disappointed that the Joker himself doesn’t have his own digs, like
the Axis Chemicals basement in Burton’s first film, but I did like the nod to
the characters constant use of Amusement Park hideouts and the like throughout
his own history with the Hyams Amusement Park truck.

The
costume design is also a testament to Nolan’s approach to the material. Here,
Batman is given yet another Batsuit, but it isn’t change for change’s sake.
There’s reason and a good one. The Batsuit IS a tad busy, but the concept of
armored plating is very cool and the ability for Batman to FINALLY turn his
head without his torso following suit is a breakthrough.

The
Joker is something else.

He’s still recognizable with the use of Purple
and Green and giving him a suit of sorts but it’s scruffier, dirtier and
rougher in broad strokes. It makes sense in a way, given that Ledger’s Joker is
a man who wouldn’t have a care in the world about his hygiene (although I admittedly
was raised on a Joker that was a bit more vain and conscious about appearance,
what with being a showman and all).

However it works well here and all of the
parallels to grunge and punk rock are well founded (why couldn’t Kids WB’s “The
Batman” do the same thing? Makes you wonder).

Composers
Zimmer and Howard provide us with a score that’s leaps and bounds above “Batman
Begins” with its use of high tension strings and electric guitar grit (every
time you hear them, you KNOW the Joker is closing in) and these eerie cascading
sounds. They also do well to flesh out the score a bit more, which I
appreciate.

My favorite moment in the score, bar none, is the building of
tension when Commissioner Loeb, Judge Surrillo and Harvey Dent are simultaneously
attacked (arguably one of my favorite moments in the film). As far as the
released soundtrack, my favorite track would have to be “Harvey Two Face”
showcasing the uplifting rise of Dent and the tragic fall of Two-Face.

The
make-up should also be commented on.

The Joker’s look, along with his costume,
is visually jarring. Being a fan that’s so used to a fully bleached Joker resulting in a chemical plunge, I was
a bit confused with the make-up approach. But damn it, it works. Any hang ups I had about it were resolved quickly. Thanks to both
Nolan and Ledger, everything concerning the Joker works.

But for me, Eckhart’s
Two-Face make up is just incredible, and it's incredible because it isn't make-up at all, but rather visual effects. For something so delicate and particular to be rendered and handled digitally is amazing.

When you first see it, you just shudder and squint your
eyes in pain it’s that gruesome. Visually, it is the BEST Two-Face I’ve ever
seen (making Tommy Lee Jones and the animated renditions look like child’s
play).

The
action is pulse-pounding and operatic in its scale.

Batman’s
assault on LSI holdings in Hong Kong is well choreographed and well executed and the idea of bringing in Sky-Hook was a nice touch. It also demonstrates Batman's tactile nature; a true war on crime being fought not just by a vigilante but a soldier.

Batman’s
fist fights both in Hong Kong and at Maroni’s club are also very well done,
especially the latter, showcasing Batman as a tough-as-nails warrior making quick
work of Salvatore’s thugs and Sal himself.

“From
one professional to another, if you’re trying to scare somebody pick a better
spot. From this height, fall wouldn’t kill me.”

“I’m
counting on it.”

Then
we’ve got the truck chase as Joker works to get to Harvey, which gives us the
wonderful moment of debuting Batman’s newest crime-fighting device; the Bat
Pod. It molds quite well with the design aesthetic of the Tumbler and I
personally prefer it to the Tumbler; kudos to designer Nathan Crowley and to
both Crowley and Nolan for holding off on giving Batman a 2nd vehicle until the
sequel.

And that truly dynamic moment of the Joker’s semi flipping vertically; my
jaw dropped the first time I saw that, no joke.

I also love the Prewitt
Building sequence and the Ferries. You couldn’t even cut the tension with a
machete, it was so thick. Even watching the film now I still hold my breath,
despite knowing the outcome. After a film that's been so emotionally charged by this point, it's nearly unfathomable how Nolan can build from there and yet he effortlessly pulls it off.

"No, there's no time. We have clear shots! Dent is in there with them, we have to save Dent. I...have to save Dent."

It was also a stroke of genius having Batman
continuously work to both disable the police without killing them and rescuing
the hostages. It paints a target on Batman's back before the end of the film and it's such a finely-tuned set piece. The action, like the rest of the film, is so well grounded and narratively dictated without being gratuitous.

Another
great aspect of the film is its depiction of the detective side of Batman’s
character. Sure we’ve seen him huddled over the Bat-Computer in other films but
if memory serves me right we never once saw an official live action scene of
Batman out in the field, visiting a crime scene. That’s one of my favorite
smaller moments in the film, seeing him on sight going through the motions of
investigation (although that whole ‘fingerprint off a bullet’ gimmick was a bit
odd, it’s certainly creative).

“I
need ten minutes with the scene before your people contaminate it.”

But
the hands down greatest scene in the film is the finale in its entirety, for
the sole fact that it takes the myth and history of the Batman character and
spins it in a way that’s not only shocking and unexpected but makes all the
sense in the world.

Prior
to the film, I’d never once read a story or seen anything concerning Batman
taking the fall and blame for a villain’s actions for the sake of retaining
order, faith and fragile moral in Gotham City. That move was simply genius.
Needless to say, I eagerly await the outcome and conclusion of the story in “The
Dark Knight Rises.”

“The
Dark Knight” has had an incredible-amount of hype running for it from the
get-go, mounting ever-higher, and percolating with Heath Ledger's all-too-soon
passing.

Sometimes the praise is overwhelming, but that’s not the
issue. It’s that it’s wild and unfocused. But that’s not to say it’s
undeserved. In short, calling the film the greatest thing since the wheel or
sliced bread is going too far but that’s not what I’m doing.

The
finished-product does more than exceed all of the near-impossible expectations
placed upon it. It does become something much richer than a
super-hero-franchise-saga.

Christopher Nolan has opened a new door on action
cinema: allowing material that would traditionally be regarded as the stuff of
children to become more serious, capable of intelligence. Through this
approach, Nolan has transformed “The Dark Knight” from a comic book movie
sequel (technically the 6th contemporary Batman film) into a piece of sheer
artwork full of beauty, terror, moral-conundrums and heroism by those both in
and out of a cowl.

This
movie has changed things. Forever.

From
here, despite the efforts of “Punisher: War Zone,” “The Spirit” or most
recently “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” there truly is, to quote the Joker,
“no going back.”

One
of the greatest films of the past decade, “The Dark Knight” is a cinematic
masterpiece in every sense of the phrase.

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About Me

The Ultimate Heroes. The Ultimate Tributes.
A pair of blogs devoted to the archiving and examination of the World's Finest super heroes.
Batman. Superman.
Whether you're one of the dark knight or man of steel's devoted fans around the world or a newcomer interested in learning about the caped crusader and the last son of krypton, I hope you join me on an incredible odyssey from the late 1930s to 2014 and beyond.